Job Title: International Project Manager (IPSA-11)
Organization: UNDP
Job Identification: 12013
Location: Yerevan, Armenia
Apply Before: 07/26/2023, 06:59 AM
Degree Level: Advanced/Postgraduate Degree
Job Schedule: Full time
Grade: IB
Vacancy Type: International Personnel Service Agreement
Practice Area: Nature, Climate and Energy
Bureau: Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS
Contract Duration: 1 Year with Possibility for extension
Education & Work Experience: Master's Degree - 7 year(s)
experience
Required Languages: English
Desired Languages: Armenian and/or Russian
Vacancy Timeline: 2 Weeks
Mobility required/no mobility: no mobility required
Job Category: Management
Job Description
Background
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are core principles at
UNDP: we value diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations
and cultures where we operate, we foster inclusion as a way of ensuring all
personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, and we ensure equity and
fairness in all our actions. Taking a ‘leave no one behind’ approach to our
diversity efforts means increasing representation of underserved populations.
People who identify as belonging to marginalized or excluded populations are
strongly encouraged to apply. Learn more about working at UNDP including our
values and inspiring
stories.
UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any
kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All
selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background
checks.
Supporting ‘green’ transformation in Armenia through
facilitating strategic investments in energy efficiency and renewables is one
of the priorities of the UNDP programme in Armenia in line with the Country
Programme Document 2021-2025. In this regard, UNDP implements a dedicated
portfolio of projects - The Climate, Environment, and Resilience (CER)
Portfolio - that have a common goal to support the Government of Armenia to
address energy poverty and insecurity by investing in energy infrastructure,
unlocking retrofit markets for energy-efficient (EE) and renewable sources and
facilitate access to international climate financing mechanisms for mitigation
and adaptation, including through climate budgeting frameworks.
The “De-Risking and Scaling-up Investment in Energy
Efficient Building Retrofits” UNDP-GCF Project is a flagship initiative in
the area of green transition aimed at systematic decarbonization of the
existing building stock in Armenia to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
while achieving sustainable development benefits. This is being achieved by
creating a favorable market environment and a scalable business model for
investment in energy efficiency retrofits and by addressing market barriers.
The barriers to energy-efficient building renovation are addressed through a
combination of policy and financial de-risking instruments and targeted
financial incentives to key market players. By systematically targeting
barriers, the Project will significantly reduce the investment risk profile of
energy efficiency building retrofits to encourage private sector investment and
thereby scale-up investment in energy efficiency building retrofits in Armenia.
To address each specific risk area, the Project is
structured under four components: (i) building sector monitoring, reporting,
and verification (MRV) and knowledge management, (ii) policy de-risking, (iii)
financial de-risking, and (iv) financial incentives. The Project, having as its
main objective to ensure sizeable energy savings and accompanying GHG emissions
reductions in both public and residential buildings, will also ensure
co-benefits such as green job creation and poverty reduction. In addition to
funding from the Green Climate Fund, the Project will catalyze private and
public sector financing for achieving the objectives and quantified indicators
set by Project Document.
To date, the Project has advanced in the establishment of
building sector MRV and knowledge management through capacity building of local
energy professionals and the introduction of a calculating method for energy
savings. The Project has also supported the development of Building Passport
formats for public and residential buildings, multi-apartment buildings
operation and maintenance rules, and a Database and Map of EE retrofitted
buildings. Expanded partnerships with the Government of Armenia and IFIs
ensured the provision of technical assistance on EE building retrofits for the
quality assurance and co-financing of up to 25% of EE eligible costs across
Armenia.
The Funding Proposal to the Green Climate Fund is
available here and the Project Document (brief) - here.
Duties and Responsibilities
The International Project Manager is responsible for the overall coordination
of project planning, ensuring adherence to the UNDP rules and regulations and
requirements of GCF and quality implementation, and timely delivery of all
Project activities, maintaining existing and building new partnerships, and
ensuring strong operational effectiveness. The incumbent will oversee the
overall management of the Project to ensure a high-performance culture,
integrity, transparency, and a conducive work environment. S/He will be
directly responsible for the achievement of results and impact and ensure
coordination with national and international stakeholders. S/He will ensure
efficient communications and visibility, overall monitoring and evaluation, and
quality reporting to the donors and other stakeholders in accordance with
agreed timelines.
The International Project Manager will perform his/her
duties in line with the GCF Funded Activity Agreement between UNDP and GCF
(FAA), the Project Document and in full compliance with the UNDP Rules and
Regulations.
Ensure the Project implementation:
- Update
(as needed) and execute the Project work plan in collaboration with
partners, and key stakeholders in accordance with Project objectives as
set in the Project Document, partners’ expectations and approved budget;
Based on the project objectives, devise detailed annual workplans (AWP)
and ensure a strict adherence to the approved AWP.
- Conduct
the Project budget planning, oversee the financial performance;
- Ensure
annual delivery of results, in compliance with the FAA and the Project
Document, UNDP rules, regulations, and standards of performance;
- Regularly
review and update risk plans and manage risks, including political,
social, environmental, financial, infrastructural, and any other risks;
- Liaise
with the Government, regional and local authorities, financial
institutions, private companies, and international partners to ensure a
participatory approach to the development and implementation of Project
activities;
- Identify
and track needed resources to ensure proper management of funds, including
financial control and audit procedures in line with UNDP rules, and
regulations as well as the procurement of goods, works, and services in
accordance with UNDP guidelines;
- Ensure
efficient operation of the Project, assume full responsibility for and
coordinate effectively and efficiently all activities and resources
(human, financial, physical/material assets, etc.) under the Project in
order to meet expected results on time and to ensure they comply with the
Project requirements;
- Capture
lessons learned, and supervise and coordinate the technical documentation
related to the implementation of interventions;
- Ensure
regular high-quality project implementation reporting (narrative,
financial, etc.) in line with the UNDP and the donor’s requirements.
Facilitate top-quality policy advice, knowledge
building and management:
- Advise
UNDP on all political, technical, and other issues relating to the Project
implementation, strategies, and approaches:
- Provide
strategic guidance and direction on Project implementation process, including
the provision of advice on the UNDP activities in building scalable and
replicable models for energy efficiency retrofits in public and
residential buildings;
- Develop
the Communication Strategy in consultation with the UNDP Country Office
Communication Analyst to ensure adequate visibility of Project activities
and systematically implement it;
- Ensure
adequate information flow, discussions, and feedback among the various
Project stakeholders, communicate findings, progress, issues, and
challenges within the Project team and respective UNDP Country Office
teams;
- Develop
a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation plan that allows periodic
monitoring of the Project’s results, performance, achievements, risks, and
challenges;
- Undertake
regular field visits and prepare an assessment of interventions; propose
corrective actions as required.
Building strategic partnerships:
- Engage,
mobilize and coordinate partners at national and local levels, and ensure
cooperation and coordination for the effective implementation of the
Project;
- Maintain
and nurture existing partnerships, enhance partnership building
efforts to diversify co-financing sources;
- Network
and develop new partnerships and relationships with the Project partners,
including Government, financial institutions, private companies and donor
community to ensure required co-financing resources are available to
support the project implementation / contributions are provided within the
agreed terms;
- Coordinate,
and lead high-quality technical inputs into progress and other reports,
annual and quarterly workplans to be submitted to the Project Board, GCF,
and UNDP.
Management and supervision of the Project team:
- Ensure
that clear working arrangements are established for collaborating with the
relevant authorities on all management, financial, contracting, and
procurement matters;
- Develop
work packages among the Project staff and experts, and international and
national consultants to ensure high performance of the Project team;
- Set
high attitude and performance standards and lead by example, especially on
the most complex activities and tasks; Lead and guide the Project team in
achieving the Project objectives;
- Coach
the team for achieving high quality results, and provide regular feedback
and performance assessment and evaluation with to enhance the individual
and collective capacities;
- Act as
a collaborative and supportive team member, contributing to the overall
effectiveness of the team and organization.
Institutional Arrangement
The International Project Manager will work under the direct
supervision of the UNDP Deputy Resident Representative and the overall guidance
of the UNDP Climate, Environment and Resilience (CER) Programme Analyst.
Competencies
Core Competencies:
- Achieve
Results: LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable
objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact
- Think
Innovatively: LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks,
develop new ideas to solve complex problems
- Learn
Continuously: LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to
expand horizons, diversify experiences
- Adapt
with Agility: LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion
change, manage multiple competing demands
- Act
with Determination: LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate
task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results
- Engage
and Partner: LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex
landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration
- Enable
Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of
diverse workforce and champion inclusivity
People Management Competencies:
UNDP People Management Competencies can be found in the
dedicated site
Cross-Functional & Technical Competencies:
- Business
management - Project management:
- Ability
to plan, organize, prioritize, and control resources, procedures and
protocols to achieve specific goals
- Business
Management - Partnership management:
- Ability
to build and maintain partnership with wide networks of stakeholders,
Governments, civil society and private sectors partners, experts and
others in line with the UNDP strategy and policies.
- Partnership
management - Resource Mobilization:
- Ability
to identify funding sources, match funding needs (programmes/projects/initiatives)
with funding opportunities, and establish a plan to meet funding
requirements
- Partnership
management - Multi-stakeholder engagement and funding:
- Knowledge
and ability to forge multi-stakeholder partnerships, and remove any
obstacles to resource mobilization and multi-stakeholder funding
platforms
- Business
Direction and Strategy - Entrepreneurial Thinking:
- Ability
to create clarity around UNDP value proposition to beneficiaries and
partners and to develop service offers responding to client needs based
on UNDP’s organizational priorities and mandate
- Business
Direction and Strategy - Strategic Thinking:
- Ability
to develop effective strategies and prioritized plans in line with UNDP’s
objectives, based on the systemic analysis of challenges, potential risks
and opportunities; linking the vision to reality on the ground, and
creating tangible solutions
- Business
Management - Monitoring:
- Ability
to provide managers and stakeholder with regular feedback on the
consistency or discrepancy between planned and actual activities and
programme performance and results.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- Master’s
degree (or equivalent) in environment, energy, economics, law,
management, public administration or another related field.
Experience:
- Minimum
7 years of demonstrated relevant experience, and capacity to effectively
manage projects financed by international donors, preferably in climate change
and/or energy sectors.
- Experience
in dealing with government officials and international donors in strategic
and managerial leadership.
Languages:
- Proficiency
in English.
- Working
knowledge of Russian and/or Armenian is an asset.
Required Skills:
- Practical
experience with demonstrated success in planning and building strategic
partnerships with donors and financing institutions, partner and
stakeholder cooperation, multi-partner coordination, and project cycle
design and management;
- Understanding
and direct experience in project budgeting and financial reporting is
required;
- Hands-on
experience in design, monitoring, and evaluation of development projects;
- Excellent
coordination skills;
- Good
organizational and time management skills;
- Strong
oral and written communication skills.
Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in
the Competencies section:
- Experience
in the implementation of large-scale programmes or projects with UNDP,
good knowledge of its procedures, rules and regulations, will be an
asset;
- Experience
with the GCF-projects, good knowledge of its procedures, rules and
regulations, will be an asset;
- Work
experience in Armenia or the region and/or a good understanding of the
country’s context will be considered an advantage.
Disclaimer
Applicant information about UNDP rosters
Note: UNDP reserves the right to select one or more
candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain
applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar
positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description,
experience and educational requirements.
Non-discrimination
UNDP has a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual exploitation
and misconduct, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. All selected
candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks,
and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.
UNDP is an equal opportunity and inclusive employer that
does not discriminate based on race, sex, gender identity, religion,
nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age,
language, social origin or other status.
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